Today at a Glance: Feb. 25, 2013. The Senate is expected to consider a judicial nomination as well as a cloture vote on Chuck Hagel's nomination to be the secretary of Defense.

Media

White House Opens More Federal Funded Scientific Research to the Public. A new White House directive will allow the general public more access to federally funded scientific research, the Obama administration announced Friday. The directive instructs federal agencies with more than $100 million in research and development expenditure to allow public access to some journal articles one year after their original publication date. It also directs researchers to publish their data. Washington Post

Senate Energy Chairman Ron Wyden Previews Panel's Agenda. How will the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee address liquefied natural gas exports, climate change, natural gas development and nuclear waste storage? During today's OnPoint, Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) previews his panel's agenda and discusses his expectations for areas of potential bipartisanship. He explains how he plans to work with Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on climate change and talks about the future of a comprehensive approach to energy policy. E&E TV

Arctic, Oil Spill Response Needs on the Table as Subpanel Weighs Service's Mission. The push and pull between the U.S. Coast Guard's various missions, including oil spill response and enforcement of fisheries laws, will be on display tomorrow as a House Transportation and Infrastructure subpanel contemplates how the service's resources are allocated. A hot topic, especially for the Coast Guard and Marine Transportation Subcommittee's No. 2 Republican, Rep. Don Young of Alaska, will likely be the Arctic. As northern sea routes open to commercial traffic and energy companies begin pouring money into the region, which is estimated to hold about a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and natural gas, a debate is raging over what equipment the Coast Guard needs and how to pay for it. E&E News

March of the Pathogens: Parasite Metabolism Can Foretell Disease Ranges Under Climate Change. Knowing the temperatures that viruses, bacteria, worms and all other parasites need to grow and survive could help determine the future range of infectious diseases under climate change, according to new research. Princeton University researchers developed a model that can identify the prospects for nearly any disease-causing parasite as the Earth grows warmer, even if little is known about the organism. Their method calculates how the projected temperature change for an area would alter the creature's metabolism and life cycle, the researchers report in the journal Ecology Letters. ScienceCodex

Interior Department Finalizes NPR-A Plan, Creates Pipeline Corridor. The development plan could be one of the last decisions for Ken Salazar; he'll leave office as soon as the Senate confirms his successor. To many Alaskans, he's leaving the controversial decisions until the exit door is within reach. The final NPR-A plan allows for oil and gas development on 11.8 million acres. Senator Begich called the creation of a pipeline corridor the most exciting development. Oil and gas producers in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas can apply for permits to construct pipelines through NPR-A into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. KTOO

China Investment Delay Spurs Greenland Independence Calls. Chinese interest in Greenland's mineral wealth is reigniting the Arctic island's campaign to sever ties with Denmark after almost 200 years of colonial rule. The calls for independence follow Danish opposition to Greenland's plan to import Chinese workers and capital to help with its mineral extraction. And as lawmakers in Denmark, which controls Greenland's foreign policy, debate whether to allow the island full control over its resources, Greenland's second- biggest party, Siumut, last week proposed breaking with the Scandinavian nation as islanders prepare for March 12 elections. The world's most scarcely populated nation is trying to attract offshore funds to help harness its energy and mineral wealth as global warming disrupts fishing patterns and threatens its main source of income. The nation of 58,000, which gets about half its exports from shrimp, is also propped up by about $600 million in subsidies from Denmark. Business Week

Coast Guard Finds Evidence of Safety Violations on Shell Rig. The U.S. Coast Guard has found evidence of multiple safety and environmental violations in Shell Alaska's Noble Discoverer Arctic drilling rig and forwarded it to the U.S. Justice Department for a decision about possible civil or criminal penalties, authorities confirmed Friday. The news is the latest setback for Shell's troubled Arctic drilling program, launched last summer off the coast of Alaska to tap one of the world's biggest remaining oil and gas deposits. It has been plagued with logistical and mechanical troubles that raise questions about the company's ability to continue this year. LA Times

Environmental Protection in the Arctic, March 1, 2013, Anchorage, Alaska. The Canadian Consulate General in Seattle will host a discussion of environmental protection issues with David Hik, President, International Arctic Science Committee, University of Albert; Fran Ulmer, Chair, United States Arctic Research Commission; and Lilian Alessa, Director, NSF Alaska EPSCoR Program. The event will be held at Rusmuson Hall 101, the University of Alaska Anchorage campus at 5pm. Emailkevin.cook@international.gc.cato RSVP.

Tufts Energy Conference, March 2-3, 2013, Medford, MA.Availability, accessibility, affordability, and acceptability: these "Four As" are at the core of global energy security. As energy demands increase around the world, the global community must balance the "Four As" while keeping up with need. Thanks to major innovations in extraction technologies, fossil fuels remain an available and affordable global asset. Yet climate change, geopolitical risk, and environmental impacts are changing the energy debate and challenging the acceptability of fossil fuels. In the short term, emerging green technologies often lack accessibility, availability, and affordability. TEC 2013 will explore how both developing and developed countries are working to meet their energy needs, manage geopolitical risk, and ensure energy security. Through six diverse but interconnected panels, TEC 2013 will address a number of pressing questions.

US-Canadian Arctic Roundtable, March 7, 2013 (Washington, D.C.). The event is hosted by the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER). The roundtable will provide an opportunity for regional stakeholders to learn more about the role of our Federal Governments in the Arctic and the potential impacts on Alaska, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. A remarkable group of participants and speakers will join the roundtable including, Alaska's U.S. Congressional Delegation and several legislators from PNWER jurisdictions. They will be joined by Ambassador Gary Doer, Government of Canada and representatives from the U.S. State Department; and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission will attend as well. As PNWER's Arctic Caucus continues to look for solutions to the shared challenges of its three jurisdictions, this meeting will present an opportunity for caucus members and federal representatives to have a dialogue about key priorities for Arctic policy and economic development. The Roundtable will be moderated by Matt Morrison, PNWER Executive Director.

The 43rd Annual Arctic Workshop 2013, March 11-13, 2013: Amherst, Massachusetts. The workshop is an annual gathering for international researchers to present work on any aspect of high-latitude environments (past, present, and future). Organizers strive for a relaxed, friendly, and interactive experience, fostered in part by the workshop's relatively small size. Researchers are invited to present their very latest research; the abstract deadline is just a few weeks before the workshop. Student participation is strongly encouraged, with partial support available to those making presentations (limited number of slots).

The Economist's "Arctic Summit: A New Vista for Trade Energy and the Environment," March 12, 2013. (Oslo, Norway) The event is hosted by The Economist. The Arctic Summit will discuss big issues concerning the region: chase for natural resources, impact of climate change, emergence of new trading routes and the need for responsible governance. The summit has been designed to focus attention and to promote constructive thinking prior to the next Arctic Council Ministers' meeting in 2013. A high-level group of 150 policy-makers, CEOs and influential commentators will spend a day tackling the issues at the heart of the Arctic's future, in discussions led by James Astill, environment editor of The Economist and author of the special report on the Arctic.

Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, March 12-13, 2013, Washington, D.C.The Standing Committee of the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region will hold its next meeting in March. One of the main priorities of the Standing Committee was originally to support the establishment of the Arctic Council. The new organization, representing the eight Arctic states (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA) and the European Parliament was founded on 19 September 1996. Since then the Committee has worked actively to promote the work of the Council. The Committee participates in the meetings of the Arctic Council as an observer.

28th Wakefield Symposium: Responses of Arctic Marine Ecosystems to Climate Change, March 26-29, 2013, Anchorage.This symposium seeks to advance our understanding of responses of arctic marine ecosystems to climate change at all trophic levels, by documenting and forecasting changes in environmental processes and species responses to those changes. Presentations will focus on collaborative approaches to understanding and managing living marine resources in a changing Arctic, and to managing human responses to changing arctic marine ecosystems. Hosted by Alaska Sea Grant and sponsors.

Arctic Science Summit Week, April 13-19, 2013. Krakow, Poland.The ASSW is the annual gathering of international organizations engaged in supporting and facilitating Arctic research. Its purpose is to provide opportunities for international coordination, collaboration and cooperation in all fields of Arctic science and to combine science and management meetings. Side meetings organized by groups with interest in the Arctic science and policy will also be held within the week.

Arctic Observing Summit 2013, April 30- May 2, 2013, Vancouver, BC, CA.The Arctic Observing Summit is led by the International Study of Arctic Change (ISAC). It is a Sustaining Arctic Observing Network (SAON) task and part of the broader SAON implementation process, which is led by the Arctic Council jointly with the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). AOS is a high-level, biennial summit that aims to provide community-driven, science-based guidance for the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long term (decades) operation of an international network of arctic observing systems. The AOS will provide a platform to address urgent and broadly recognized needs of arctic observing across all components of the arctic system, including the human component. It will foster international communication and coordination of long-term observations aimed at improving understanding and responding to system-scale arctic change. The AOS will be an international forum for optimizing resource allocation through coordination and exchange among researchers, funding agencies, and others involved or interested in long term observing activities, while minimizing duplication and gaps.

International Conference on Arctic Ocean Acidification, May 6-8, 2013, Bergen, Norway.The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program (AMAP), the Institute of Marine Research, the Norwegian Institute for Water Research, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research, and the University of British Columbia, Canada, host a conference to consider Arctic Ocean acidification. Topics will include response of Arctic Ocean to increasing CO2 and related changes in the global carbon cycle, social and policy challenges, Arctic Ocean acidification and ecological and biogeochemical coupling, implications of changing Arctic Ocean acidification for northern (commercial and subsistence) fisheries, and future developments.

Private Sector Transportation, Infrastructure, Assets, Response, Capacity, and Development in the Arctic, May 30, 2012, Seattle, WA. A recently-held Arctic transportation workshop in Iceland highlighted the need to better understand private sector transportation infrastructure and assets, recognizing industry's role in the responsible development of resources, response and supportive infrastructure. As a follow-up to its efforts to inventory and map Arctic transportation infrastructure, the Institute of the North is hosting a workshop at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center in Seattle, Washington that focuses on three critical areas: private sector assets and infrastructure in the Arctic, staging areas outside the Arctic that support Northern development, and vessels and technology that are difficult to map but need to be measured for future decision-making. Participants include industry representatives, technical experts, researchers, Coast Guard and other response personnel.

AGU Science Policy Conference, June 24-26, 2013. (Washington, DC)Hundreds of Earth and space scientists, students, policymakers, and industry professionals will discuss key Earth and space science topics that address challenges to our economy, national security, environment, and public safety. This meeting will focus on the science that helps inform policymakers' decisions related to energy, natural hazards, technology and infrastructure, climate, oceans, and the Arctic. The event is hosted by American Geophysical Union (AGU), a Washington, D. C.-based international nonprofit scientific association.